Liquor Advertising Pours Into TV

Lately there has seemed to be a stampede of liquor brands to TV as marketers seek broad awareness for product launches or to build new buzz on old brands.

One reason for the new interest is that broadcast networks have loosened their rules, creating more opportunities for national buys. CBS, for instance, began accepting liquor ads during late-night programming within the last year. ABC has been taking hard-booze during "Jimmy Kimmel Live" for several months. And this spring, NBC began accepting spirits shows airing after 11 p.m. Eastern as long as 90% of the audience is of legal drinking age. (Industry self-regulations allow beer, wine or liquor ads only on programs where at least 71.6% of the audience is 21 or older.) More broadcast deals are "in the works," one industry insider told Ad Age. TV grabbed $142 million in advertising from liquor brands in 2010, or about 34% of all media spending by the category. That's up from $102 million and 23% just five years earlier, according to the latest data available provided to Ad Age by the Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S. (Discus), a liquor trade group. Magazines led with a 41% share, though that was down from 58% in 2005. Liquor brands' TV spending fell to a little more than $141 million last year, according to Kantar Media. But it seems poised to grow again in 2012 as a host of products roll out TV campaigns, from Skinnygirl Cocktails to Wild Turkey, a 157-year-old bourbon brand.